


Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?

by Wintercameandwent



Series: Family, Duty, Honor and a Dragon Queen [3]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Aemon and not Aegon, Alternate Ending, Canon Divergence, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, If Dany or Sansa could do no wrong then this is not the fic for you, Jon Snow is Not Called Aegon, Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Out of Character, Polyamory, Post-Season/Series 08 Finale, Pregnancy, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-24
Updated: 2019-11-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 21:40:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21545830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wintercameandwent/pseuds/Wintercameandwent
Summary: Lets see what happens to Jon, Dany, and Sansa when a few variables change...
Relationships: Jon Snow/Daenerys Targaryen, Jon Snow/Sansa Stark
Series: Family, Duty, Honor and a Dragon Queen [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1552642
Comments: 16
Kudos: 32





	Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?

**Author's Note:**

> The title is a quote from the fantasy novel, Sabriel, by Garth Nix. I thought it appropriate for the story. The series is pretty well written if you're looking for new reading material. 
> 
> As I wrote the story FDH & DQ, I thought about other endings for this story, and this one felt right. I know there will some dissenters out there, but there might also be a few who can see Jon, Dany, and Sansa moving forward this way too.
> 
> This does _**NOT**_ have a polyamory endgame. **I repeat this does not have a polyamorous end!**

__**Daenerys’s POV  
** Greywater Watch  
Three months after the summit 

Daenerys sat on a chair by the window in her chambers. The view in her eyes was so much better than any view to be seen through the colored glass beside her. Her daughter. She had a daughter. It astonished her greatly every time Dany gazed at her child, her very Northern child, for any Targaryen traits she may have inherited were not noticeable. With her dark hair, eyes that seem more grey than blue most days. The midwife assured her babe’s eyes could change at any time for the color was like a flip of a coin. Daenerys could tell, could feel, that her little one would not have violet eyes like her. She has a long face, body, fingers, and toes. At three moons old, they had not named her yet, calling her Sweetling. After childbirth, she was so afraid of naming her. She had named her son too soon and lost him, she did not want to do the same to her daughter, for she was afraid that she could lose her as well. 

Dany also struggled with finding the right name for her. Jon was happy to defer to Dany’s wishes on this matter. He told her he would be understanding if she wanted to name their daughter after her mother...giving her a family name...Rhaella. Though it pained her to do so, she declined. One of the concessions to come forth from the summit was that the Targaryen name would die in Westeros. Rhaella is such a Targaryen name, she didn’t want her daughter to be associated with it...not after what she plans to do. When she proposed Lyanna, Jon thought about it for some time, but ultimately decided against it. His reason sound... _“While I would have liked to honor Lyanna Mormont, for she was a fierce Northern who stood by me, by the North, her name is also my mother’s and her end is not something a child should have to shoulder. Unfortunately, no matter what we say, people will look for my mother’s likeness and not Mormont’s.”_

Knowing time was fast approaching, she needed to name her child. She wanted to connect her daughter to her Targaryen heritage without making her obviously linked. At the same time, the North is where she will be raised and having a Northern name would help her assimilate in a way that Daenerys never could...not here, not anywhere. So, she decided to write one more letter. This time to King Brandon Stark asking him for two small favors, a look into the past to find a time where Targaryen and Stark women found common ground...and if so, who were these women. It seems the King has requested her a boon for she received a missive from him today. 

Reaching out to take the letter from the table beside her, she halts her movements as her daughter begins to seem disgruntled at her mother’s disturbance. As her tiny lids begin to close and her body movements cease, Dany leans back in the tiniest of increments, with the letter in hand. She reads Brandon’s words.

_Dear Daenerys,_

_I have decided to grant your requests._

_On the first matter, I have discovered that when Queen Alysanne came to Winterfell she became close with the daughter of Lord Alric Stark and his wife Lady Mormont. The daughter was named Alarra, and she served as a Lady-in-Waiting for Queen Alysanne. I thought perhaps this personal connection might be very useful to you and Jon._

_As for the second matter, yes, I can do this for you. Your mind is set, that I already know. May you stay true to your newfound purpose Daenerys ‘Stormborn’ Targaryen._

_May you find what you are looking for,_

_Brandon Stark  
King in the North_

Daenerys folds the letter and looks down at her daughter. Her mind going over all her reasons deciding to go forward with her own ideas. Plans that deviate from the ones she created with Jon and Sansa. He won’t understand and she thinks he will never forgive her, but in time he will see this is the best thing for her to do...partly for herself but more importantly for their child. All she wants for her child is to have a home and a family. She remembered having that once and losing it because of her name. All she and her brother had was one old man who cared for them. Here in the North, her daughter would have family who could and would take her should something befell Jon. People who she would know loved her and not for what her name meant, but because they loved her for who she was. A novel experience...one Dany hasn’t really known ever. She could give her daughter that. Dany knows she cannot stay here, not when she is aware of how her people in Meereen are failing under an overbearing regency. Darrio has done all he can with the skills he possess, she does not blame him, but it is time that she return to her people. She had a duty to them first, before she had a child. To bring her daughter’s existence to the awareness of her enemies, such as the ones that remain in Astapor and Yunkai, could bring unnecessary harm to her child. She is safer in the North, with her Northern father, Northern family, and far away from the Targaryen Legacy. In her leaving her daughter can choose her own path...her mother’s shadow never to touch her. 

Before she can go, she first needs to name her child. Looking down at the eyes that are now looking at her, she kisses her small little nose and whispers, “Hello, my sweet Alarra.”

***

****  
_Bear Island_  
Six months after the summit

Three more moons have passed, and they had moved to Bear Island two moons ago. They have prepared for the Winter and with the Island being so small and underpopulated, it looks like they are in good form. In a sennight Sansa is to arrive for short visit. The last she saw of the tall red-haired woman was when Sansa had stopped at Greywater Watch on her way to bring her family remains to Winterfell. Dany had given birth to Alarra a sennight before. She smiled at Dany but the expression was forced, but she did relax a bit when she picked up her daughter. _“She’s a Northern beauty...very much a winter rose.”_ Sansa left shortly after, but she had stayed in regular contact with Jon. It was her understanding that Jon had written Sansa to tell her he had planned to visit her before the deep Winter began, but she had told him to stay put and she promised to return to Bear Island. 

The time had come, she could feel it, there was a change in the energy that traveled through her. Jon could sense it too. He would send her these odd looks, and often inquired on how she was feeling...if she felt anything out of the ordinary. Daenerys could not postpone the talk she needed to have with Jon. Every time he held her, wrapped her in his arms, kissed her lips...she felt the weight of her duplicity. While she knows it’s for the safety of their daughter, and a return to protecting her people...for she cannot leave it again for another to do. This will be the final betrayal between them. Their love, while it burns brightly will one day burn low...till it burns out. This will seal their fate. Their daughter the living evidence of what they once were, a living memory that will have to be enough...for both of them. 

As if her thoughts brought him to her, Jon’s arms hold her, resting his chin on her shoulder, he stares out into the vast clearing before them as they stand outside the keep. Dany has come out every day for the last couple of days...waiting. “So, when does she arrive?” he whispers in her ear. Taking a deep swallow to buy the time she needs before she could speak. “She?” 

“Drogon...” 

“Soon, any day now.” 

“How long do you think she will stay? Will she have her dragons?” 

“Not long, not long at all. And no to the dragons. They are far too little. She has left them somewhere safe I am sure.” 

“You seem very sure that her visit is a short one. It has been over a year Dany; I am sure she will want to stay with you much longer than a short time.”

Finding her opening, she turns around in Jon’s arms, wrapping her arms around his neck, bringing his lips close to hers. After taking his kiss, feeling his warmth, his love, she puts this feeling in a place so deep inside her, then slowly she steps away. Jon looks at her, his eyes uncertain until recognition sets in. He says nothing, but his eyes burn her with his pain. She knows he waits for her to say what he has already figured out. “I know because she and I will leave shortly after she arrives.”

“No. This is not what we agreed to. You said you would stay; never did you speak of leaving. When did this change of heart grow?”

Dany looks away, pursing her lips together tightly, trying to keep her tears from falling. “After Alarra was born. I began to think about what my life was like and how hers would be different. Then I thought about the oaths I swore before I even met you, before I had birth her, and I realized I couldn’t abandon the people who I chose to save. I left them without the only protection they ever had. I know what that is like Jon. I don’t think I could live with myself knowing they were still hurting because I left them vulnerable.”

“You are worried about the people you abandoned, but what about our daughter? You are abandoning her. You are leaving her unprotected? How do you live with that?” His rage is a living thing, slashing at her arguments, trying to rip them to shreds. But she has thought this through, and there is no bladed-word that will move her from this path...for all of this is for her daughter. 

“I am not abandoning her. I am leaving her with you. Jon, I am the biggest threat to our child. Westeros will never truly feel comfortable with me near its borders. We have this island and yes we could live here, but I will always know what I did to the people in King's Landing. I can’t escape that. I also know what I did for the people in Meereen. I gave them hope and then I disappeared. I wish I could explain to you how powerful hope can be...and how if mistreated, it can destroy you. How do I live with that? What do you think that knowledge will do to me over time? How it will change me? Do you see me changing for the better? I don’t. If go and come back, people in Essos will learn of her, and she will be a target. As would you, Sansa...or the children you may have with her. This haven will no longer be safe. I will not make that of you all. I cannot. Also, If I were to claim her, I don’t want her to see this journey I am on as her legacy to sustain. Whatever I create in Meereen, I know it has to sustain beyond me. I will plan for that, but my ‘legacy’ ends with me. I want her to find her own way, but she never will...not with the type of shadow I will cast. My past, my future...they will not touch her once I am gone.”

Jon stares at her, but he says nothing, his face stoic...gray eyes icy. “This is what you want. To leave our daughter, to leave me, in Westeros while you leave. Will you return? Will she ever see you? Will I?”

Daenerys bites the inside of her cheek till she can taste the iron in her mouth. “Yes. This is what I need...to honor my word to the people who chose me as their Queen, and to protect you and our daughter. I don’t plan on ever coming back to Westeros, but should the realms need my help, then I will come. It is only there that our paths would cross Jon Snow.”

His breathes deeply, a tremor in his breath, a hand pulls at his beard...how she will remember pulling on it to bring his lips close. “What do I tell her about you? When she ask? Cause she will?”

A snowflake drifted before her, more flakes falling...a light snow. She smiles at him as she thinks of what she’d want her daughter to know. “Tell her that I loved her more than anything. Tell her to have care and compassion for people, to be strong and fierce...but controlled, to be smart and humble. Don’t follow people blindly, be a dissenter at times. Find your path, and make sure it’s a good one. Tell her that if I had been told this long ago, if I had been taught to live it, then perhaps I would have made better choices. Decisions that would have made it possible for me to have stayed with her.”

This man, the one that she loves, just shakes his head...his eyes wet. “Dany, please...”

“And when she’s older Jon, if you think she can be trusted with the truth, then tell her my story. Tell her what I did. Let her talk to Sansa, Bran, and Arya about it, if they are willing. Even Samwell and Tormund...make sure she know what I did, why I did it, and how I changed. Don’t keep it a secret. We both know what secrets can do.”

They stand in front of each other. “If she decides she wants to see you?” 

Daenerys thinks about her last request to Bran. “Just tell the Three-Eyed Raven, and I will come.”

As they stand in the snowfall, a roar of a majestic beast out of legends latches onto her hurting heart.

***

__  
**Jon’s POV**  


It has been a sennight since Daenerys had left on the back of her dragon. The departure from Greywater Watch of Torgo Nudho and the Unsullied that remained, three moons ago, makes much more sense now than it did back then. She had known then that she was going to leave. Jon looks down at his daughter. She is a quiet babe, who seems calm and thoughtful...if a baby could be such things. Alarra just finished feeding, he loves to hold her afterwards, she is absolutely milk-drunk and he enjoys watching her expressions. Nothing about her reminds him of Daenerys and that saddens him. He doesn’t know what her character will be like, he can only hope that he will raise her to be a good person.

Jon places his daughter back in her cradle, he thinks about Dany’s reasons for leaving, and he still finds it hard to understand how she could. A letter from Bran arrived on the day she left. His cousin shared his sympathies for the change within their small family, and that if there was anything he could do, to please ask. Jon had a feeling Bran knew Daenerys’s plans, but what could the younger man do. It was not his secret to tell. He allowed Dany to reveal it in her own time...in her own way. Just like he did for him a long time ago. 

Sansa was due to arrive today. He had not the chance to send her a letter, the ravens to the Frozen Shores, unless sent by Bran, are less than accurate in their ability to deliver a missive. A horn blew heralding the arrival of visitors. He knew it was her. Jon turned when his door was opened, the wet nurse, name Maggie came in...giving him a sad smile, as she sat near Alarra’s bed. Shooing Jon off to greet Sansa in the yard. Making his way outside, he jogs down the steps leading him to the front gate of the keep. She had just made her way into the gate, walking very closely, and speaking to a man with dark brown hair and green eyes that seem very keen. Clearly this man is one of the Free Folk, but Jon does not remember meeting him on his visit. He knows that she plans to visit Winterfell to meet Bran and Meera’s twin sons, Eddard and Jojen, there she will also meet with Manderly regarding the initiative they began over six moons ago. Afterwards she will return. Well that had been the plan before Dany had left. Now, Jon didn’t know how Sansa was to respond. 

As she walked closer to the center of the yard, Sansa pulled her attention from her companion, her eyes finding Jon’s. All he wants to do is pull her into his arms. Gods he’s missed her. He holds her close, his hands in her hair, and his lips on hers. She melts into him, pulling away when they both need to breath. She holds onto his face. Her eyes searching his...hers uncertain and sad. Jon wasn’t sure if someone had alerted Sansa to the changes in his home or if she was bringing her own unfortunate news. Pulling away completely from him she turns to the man who is now standing beside her. “Jon I want to introduce to you my friend. This is Skylaar Icehouse. He has come to learn how to build Manderly’s boats. He does excellent woodwork. He’s been a fount of knowledge about how to work the kind of wood trees we have so far North. A blessing for me and Manderly’s men.” Jon sees the change in her smile as she introduces this man.

Jon extends his arm. His guard is up, but he maintains a calm expression. “Skylaar Icehouse, welcome to Bear Island.” The man who seems to be similar in age to Jon returns the gesture. “Jon Snow, the pleasure is mine.” Jon gestures for a guard to show Icehouse and the rest of Sansa’s men where they could rest during their time on the island. Grabbing Sansa’s hand, he pulls her into his home. They walk together, but her turn to look back at Icehouse was not lost on Jon. 

He brought her to her own room....a chamber he had decorated with things he thought she would like. Fabrics, needles, yarn...even a loom. Her last letter told him she had taken up the craft and enjoyed it immensely. Clearly Sansa noticed the small gestures, her voice said so. “Oh, Jon. You shouldn’t have.” She smiles at him. The expression not reaching her eyes. She looks over the loom. 

“So how is Daenerys and Alarra?” Jon could hear a nervous tremor in her voice.

“The babe is fine; she is resting in my chambers. As for Dany, I imagine she is well, flying over the sea...back to Meereen.” Jon says it in one breath. He watches Sansa’s reaction.

“What? Daenerys is gone!” Sansa’s pale parlor became even more so. “Oh, Jon. When?”

“About a sennight ago. I thought to write you but you would have arrived here faster than the raven would have gotten there. Sansa is standing in front of him, her eyes widen in shock. “I don’t know what to say to this. I am confused. I’m sorry obviously for I know you love her...and now your daughter will grow up without a mother.” 

In that moment, Jon wonders if Sansa could love his child like her own. Something must have shown on his face because the next words out of Sansa Stark's mouth undid what was left of his world. “Jon...I know this is probably not the right time for you, but we need to talk.”

***

It was a long dark night for Jon. Maggie the wet nurse, sensed Jon needed to be alone and took his daughter for the night. Jon sat slouched on a chair, with a half empty pitcher of ale beside him, and an almost empty cup in his hand. His door opened quietly, the only notice being the cold draft of air that entered a fairly warm room. “Thought you might need another pitcher of ale.” Ayra’s voice quiet and kind. Jon nods and gestures for her to sit at the chair beside him. “I didn’t know you were here. Sansa said naught of it, but then there seems a lot Sansa neglected to tell me.”

“Jon don’t be churlish. She didn’t plan on Skylaar. It just happened. You of all people should understand. Two young and very attractive adults, working together on a common goal to improve the lives their people, long talks, heated looks, understanding grows...along with affection. She’s not saying she loves him the way she loves you, yet, but she does care for him. He will not share her and she cares for him enough to not ask him to. You knew this could happen one day. I know you could not have predicted it would have fallen on the heels of Daenerys’s departure, but that is not on Sansa. Though I know it doesn’t make you hurt any less.”

Jon is silent, letting Arya’s words burn him. He wants the pain. He wants to consume it so that he can unleash it on something...or someone. But he knows he can’t do that...all he can do is take the pain and keep it to himself for she should not be the beneficiary of his hurt. Neither Sansa nor his daughter.

“I love them Arya." His voice sounding hoarse and unused. "If this is what they want, it will kill a part of me, but by the Gods I will give it to them.”

Arya reaches over to squeeze his arm, her eyes wet, her smile...sad. “In time Jon you will feel ready to move forward. You have one very good reason...and she is right across the hall.”

Jon’s mind goes to his daughter, his lips begin to tug into a genuine smile...if only for a moment. “Aye. I do, Arya.”

“Besides you’ll have me around to teach her how to keep you on your toes.” The familiar smirk in place.

“You’re staying?” Jon was surprised by this news. He thought Arya would have stayed in Winterfell for the Winter or gone back with Sansa. 

“I am. You know they say the formative years are the most influential so I must split my time between Bear Island and Winterfell. I must leave my mark on my nieces and nephews...for it truly will be my gift to any and all siblings who choose to procreate.” Her smirk pulling a waned smile from his lips.

Jon shifted his eyes to look at the flames that burn hot but that he cannot feel, not now, not yet. He will move beyond this for his daughter deserves a father who is present, the people who remain on the island deserve a place that will do more than allow them to survive. He will be a good father. He will maintain the home of a man who taught him plenty and who saw potential in him...he will protect Bear Island for Jeor and Lyanna Mormont, while he seeks shelter on it. They have prepared for Winter, and afterwards they will serve the North as the people of this island have always done. Though his heart is shattered, and his mind cluttered, one thing Jon Snow knew was that time’s horrible moments were temporary...and that he wasn’t alone.

***

__  
**Frozen Shore  
**  
Two and a half years later  


“Father, put me down.” 

Jon ignored his lively daughter, and continued to hold her while they waited for the ship to be fortified firmly to the dock and the plank to be secured. He was finding it harder to pretend her squirming didn’t make him want to laugh at her. One thing Jon has learned about his child, that has served him well, is if she is aware that he finds her antics humorous then she is more likely to continue said behavior. Unfortunately, most of what he wants to laugh are things she should not do. Grateful that he can put her down, he does so. He grabs their bags and swings them over his shoulder. Winter ended about a year ago, the worst of it was only less than a year. Jon has been able to visit the Frozen Shore as often as he can. It has been difficult seeing Sansa and Skylaar here in their home. He tries to seem neutral about it all, but Arya says he those who know him well knows he does a poor job of it. Sansa seems happy to him, and that is all he ever wanted for her. But he doesn’t deny himself his truth...he still loves her so. Nevertheless, there is another good reason for his frequent visits. 

Shortly after Sansa left Bear Island she went on to Winterfell, but had not come back. Instead another person had. Hindya. It was then that he had learned more about who Hindya was...well who Hindya was before she became the Chieftain Leader of the Frozen Shore Clan. She told him a tale, about another life, when she was the daughter of a High Lord who ran away from her betrothed and into the arms of a Crown Prince. She spoke of a girl who had a great capacity for being brave and for protecting others, but who was very stupid and selfish. Her former life almost left her dead...as dead as her father and brother...as dead as her lover and husband who never should have been, and as dead as his children and his wife who were repeat victims of her youthful arrogance...dead as many of the men who died for her folly. A guilt so heavy and all hers to own, she decided that her best choice was to give her child a chance at a life without the mark of their parents on him...that if he were to bare a mark, it would be that of an honorable man. A man who promised to keep him safe...a man who loved her even when she err so grievously...her brother. It has been over two years since Jon Snow has learned that his mother, Lyanna Stark, stilled lived. 

To say that all was magically understood and forgiven would be a lie unto itself. Jon was angry and furious. When the true Winter finally came, she had stayed...and in the end they came to an understanding of sorts. She helped him to see that Dany’s decision to leave their family was an act only a mother could make. It was an act of love, and it was up to Jon to make sure Alarra knew that. That was one thing she herself had regretted for Jon...not making sure he knew he was loved and wanted by his mother. Very few people know the truth of Hindya’s past...it is just him and the Starks...and that is how the truth will remain. Jon visits often to see his mother and for his daughter to visit with “Hindy.”

As she sends a loud childish yell to the people at the dock, Jon is drawn to his daughter once again, as she turns to him offering a shy smile. So, unlike her mother, Alarra looks like a Stark, she behaves much like Arya did as a child. But there are times when she turns to him and beams and all he sees is Daenerys smile. Jon can’t help but feel a punch to his gut every time. It pains him to know that Daenerys will never know their daughter the way he knows her, but the report shared throughout Westeros claim that the Dragon Queen has stabilized her nation of Meereen and the other cities in Bay of Dragons with the help of four smaller dragons that follow on the heels of an enormous one. There even seems to be a secret route for slaves to travel from other slave cities to her free ones...all in the hopes that they reach _her_...gaining their freedom. His pain associated with thoughts of Daenerys have lessened considerably over the years. He seldom thinks of her, but when he does his thoughts are kind and arise when Alarra discovers something new about the world or about herself. He still cares for Daenerys, but things are fundamentally changed between them...and he’s made peace with that in order to move forward. 

Jon watches as his daughter runs down the wide plank and into the arms of Sansa Stark. “Sansa!” Jon smiles widens as he sees the crimson-haired woman lift his daughter high into the sky with ease. Dressed in a woolen dress, she perches his daughter on her right hip holding her with one arm, and with her other hand, she brushes back her curls creeping out of her braids. They smile at each other, with Sansa kissing Alarra all over her face. His daughter’s carefree laughter makes him bark out a laugh of his own. Stopping before the two females that hold much sway over his heart, he greets Sansa warmly. “Hello San. Thanks for meeting us.”

“No problem at all. I’ve missed you two.” She smiles at him, her eyes so blue he has to look away or find himself drowning in them. Sansa turns as well, her attention on Alarra, tickling her. “ So has Hindya. She had a meeting that couldn’t be avoided. I will get you settled in, and we can meet her for dinner this evening.” Sansa’s smile is so unguarded and has been for so long...something Skylaar and her life here in Frozen Shore has done for her. Watching as she leads the way, talking about randomness with his three-year-old daughter, and looking lighter than she ever had before, Jon realizes that Sansa’s decision to stay here...to make a life with a man who could commit to only her...was the right choice for her. He’s proud she was stronger than him, but then he always knew she was. 

Sansa enters the hut that his mother had allocated for when the King Beyond the Wall visits...a mantle he has only had to pick up once when some boundary disputes arose. He’s glad that it turns into a visitors quarters when he is gone...instead of remaining in a wasteful state. Wastefulness is not a Free Folk trait. It is convenient that Hindya is across from him. Right outside his doorway they can hear the young children playing. “Father, I want to play?” Alarra asked...her big grey eyes pleading for him to acquiesce to her demand. He gives her a mock stern look, just like the one he had received from the man who raised him. “If I agree, you must promise not to go further than that yard. I should be able to look out these furs and see you. Is that clear?”

Bouncing on the heels of her feet she agrees, tasting victory, of that Jon is sure. “Aye, Father!”

“Aye. Go ahead.”

As soon as Jon agreed she ran out the door. Jon looks over at Sansa. “She’s not going to stay there is she?”

The beautiful woman before him just laughed. “Of course not. She’s your daughter...and Arya’s spirit animal.” Sansa’s laughter warms him. Bringing his smile back to his lips. “Go see to her. I will settle you in, if that is okay.”

“I don’t want to keep you from your evening meal with Skylaar. He’s been patient enough I’m sure.” Jon tries to consider the man, though after all this time it is not as automatic as it should be. 

Sansa shakes her head, almost if as clearing it. “No worries about that. Skylaar and I have moved on from each other. He is working on starting up a boat building center on the eastern side of the continent. Manderly has been pleased with our successes. Seems as though there is a market for high quality trading vessels.” She turns and begins to pull items out of one of the bags. Jon is stunned by this news. He recalls his last correspondences from Hindya, Arya, and Sansa, and never did they mention that Skylaar and Sansa had dissolved their relationship. Feeling like he should say something, the extended silence deafening. Pained for Sansa, it moves him to speak. “Sansa. I’m sorry. May I ask? Was this change a recent one? Are you okay?”

Sansa turns back to him, her lids lowered, as she measures the sincerity of his words. He must have passed her analysis for she began to answer his questions. “It’s fine Jon. It has been almost six moons. It was a mutual decision. I am not mad or angry. When we were together, it was good, and our life moved in the same direction. But unfortunately, he wanted more than I was willing to give. We had a choice to make, and we made it. I think it was the right one for us. From what I know of myself, I know that bending would not have been a good decision for me. We loved, we lived, we parted...and we’ve moved on.” 

Jon took in her words and her countenance. She seemed sincere and unburdened. Perhaps the ending of their liaison had been in the works, for no one on the outside knows the inner workings of a relationship. He understands that better than most. “Now go before your child rides Ghost all the way to the Skirling Pass.”

“He arrived did he.”

“Yes, he did. I still think it funny that he requires a short ferry to the continent so that he could walk here. He truly hates the ships, doesn’t he?”

“Aye he does. I better go before she talks him into a long journey to see Tormund.” Jon walks out of his room with Sansa’s amusement floating on the wind. 

As Jon watched his daughter play with the children, his mind reverted back to Sansa’s recent news. She was no longer with Skylaar. She was now...unattached. Jon worked to keep his feelings on that matter close to his heart. For almost three years he has lived with the ache of her absence. Yes, she was there and present, on the island when she used his home as a location for building ships, being that it has a milder climate for building during the Spring snows. A decision he never regretted for three reasons...first it provided an economy for the people on the island, second it helped Sansa in her efforts to assist the North in gaining a reputation as master shipbuilders, and most importantly...it allowed Jon to still have Sansa in his life. 

Jon thinks about their last conversation...the last one they had about them. She had just told him of Skylaar, of how it felt to feel a connection to a man who would not share her and her desire to give into that feeling. The departure of Daenerys, saddened her for him and their child, but in that moment she had no desire to be a mother. A recollection of that time, clearly comes to mind, _”Jon, I am sorry you are hurting by her decision to leave and with a young child, no less. Part of me even understands her reasoning, now that you’ve shared them. You once told me that I chose whether I want to be with you, but in the light of all this...and Skylaar, I think that now is not a good time for us, for I will always wonder if you would have chosen me if I asked you to choose, or if I am just a convenient mother for your child and a balm for your pain. I will not be that...not for you, not for anyone.”_ That wasn’t what he needed her for, and in that moment he could not see her side of it, but after a while...his hurt became less and he could see where she might have thought he wanted her as a substitute for something lost. She left her chambers that night...and shared the one given to Skylaar instead. Later that evening was when Arya visited him, and she told him of her decision to stay with them for a while.

_**Sansa’s POV**_

A fortnight had passed since Jon’s arrival, she is looking at him play with his daughter on the bear rug in Hindya’s hut, a girl so affectionate, carefree and headstrong, she makes Sansa question just want Arya has taught her. Her mental wandering ceases as Hindya sits across from her with two cups of ale for both of them. “So, what are you going to do now, Sansa?”

“I don’t know.”

“Times are different. You are different. He is different. You still love him and he loves you.”

“Jon...cares for me.”

Hindya barks out a laugh, bring Jon and Alarra’s attention to her. She waves them away and returns her attention to Sansa. “That man does more than care for you. Every time you walk into a room and every time you leave...his eyes follow you. Every time your lips move, my son’s eyes track your every movement. Skylaar saw it and it angered him, but you were true to him and he loved you...trusted in you.”

“Then he changed things.” Sansa murmured, her eyes following the antics of the father and daughter before her.

“Yes. He wanted to steal you. Start a family with you and you told him no...as is your right. But it takes no fool to know why Sansa.”

“I was happy with Skylaar. If he hadn’t served me an ultimatum to accept his suit...to bare his children. If he hadn’t changed things...” Sansa declares resolutely, for it was true.

“Aye you were, for a time, but the man wanted marriage and children with you and you told him no.”

“It’s not something I want.”

Hindya scoffed. “You say that, but I bet you wouldn’t mind having a child or two with him...” The older woman who turned out to be her aunt, nodded in her son’s direction. “Deny that...as if you could?”

Sansa looks over at Jon, and finds she cannot. She still loves Jon, and she wants him, but only if he meets her on her terms. Unfortunately, with their past, she think that their chance has since come and gone. “Why don’t I keep Alarra for the night? Give you and Jon a chance to talk without nosey little ears listening about.” Looking at the woman, Sansa wonders if she is making a mistake by taking her up on her offer. “I promised Alarra a dip in the baths, but if you can convince Jon...”

Right brow quirked; with a matching smirk, the woman stared at Sansa. “I don’t need to convince Jon of anything. Over three years ago, he traveled all over the North looking for you, to claim you...and you gave him your answer and built your own life without him. I’ll give it to him that he respected your decision. Now things are different. He’s here, but it’s up to you to open the door you purposefully closed so long ago. Now I am not judging you. The choices you made were right for you, but he has no reason to think after all these years you’d still be interested in sharing your furs with him.”

Sansa couldn’t stop the blush that flooded her face. “Hindya! Must you speak in those terms.”

Watching her aunt laugh at her, Sansa found it hard not to smile back. “Am I wrong? He is a beautiful man?”

Not able to retain her dignity without laughing, Sansa stood up and walked towards the man and his lovely child. 

“What is Hindya up to that has caused you to go redder than your hair?” Jon whispers to her, as Alarra runs over to fetch a small block to add to her tower. “Nothing that bares repeating. I assure you.” 

Sansa turns her attention to Alarra who tells Sansa that she must play with her. And like most people who fall under Alarra’s spell, Sansa is no different. She is a clever girl, always finding ways to get what she wants. Small animals are her weakness, for Jon writes often about the newest creature that has found a home in their Keep. An active child who is constantly in a state of movement, running, climbing, jumping, hopping...her energy is limitless. She could be quite headstrong on matters and Jon has had to find a well of patience where she is concerned, for Alarra could be defiant when she persisted in getting her way...a trait Sansa always thought reminded her of Daenerys...but this trait could easily be chalked up to Arya’s influence as well. The little girl was also an affectionate child, who loved to be hugged, held, and kissed. Sansa doesn’t know when it happened, but she lost her heart to this child a long time ago. She found that she could love Alarra for just being herself. In the end they had chosen to remain as family of a different kind, different than like the one he had proposed so many years ago. 

Thinking the older woman had the right of it, Sansa opens the door a bit. “Hindya thought she’d offer to take Alarra for the evening. If you were inclined, perhaps we could catch up a bit. I know I’ve told you some, but I know you have questions...and I am okay with your asking.” She finds her lips dry, and slowly traces her tongue across. Jon’s eyes darkened noticeably. Though she protested, Sansa always felt Jon’s eyes on her, the heat of his gaze, the want. It never went away, she just ignored it...suppressed her reaction to it. Perhaps Skylaar was right to press the issue of children, for who was she to deny a good man the chance to be a husband and a better father.

***

Later that evening Sansa thought of Jon. After sharing a bath, she had left his daughter in his arms, as the man tried to settle his girl into her evening routine. Ever the insistent one she asked her father if she could sleep in Sansa’s bed, just as she had earlier that week, but he kept denying the girl her request which led to the question of ‘why’...at which Sansa thought it best to leave. Not sure if Jon would be able to come to her tonight, she sat by a chair before the fire. Many changes were made to Sansa’s home since her arrival so many years ago. It is a proper home, or so she made it one...first for herself and then one she shared with her former lover. Wearing in a lightweight tunic, she sits by the fire and wonders if it were foolish of her to think she and Jon could try again or have the fates spoken and now they should listen. Thinking he would not see her this night, she begins to prepare for bed, pondering if there was time during the day in which they could have some privacy. Her thoughts are diverted by the rustling of furs at her door.

Jon walks in looking a bit sheepish. “I’m sorry it’s so late. It took longer for her to fall asleep than usual. She was in rare form this evening. Seems as if she is trying to get enough time with you before we are too leave. Being three she doesn’t quite get that we will be here for another moon.”

Sansa turns to him, gesturing for him to take a seat...on her bed. Jon clears his throat but sit down. She rises to get them both a drink. “It is fine. Time matters little in the heart of a child.”

“Aye...don’t I know it.” Jon smiles at her as she hands him a cup. 

Sansa sits beside him. A leg draped off the bed, the other bent close to her chest. She notices how Jon’s eyes follow the rise of her tunic, the heat in his glance. “You’re good with her. But I always knew you’d be a good father, Jon.”

“But, huh...you know what Eddard Stark said about that word.” Jon smirked at her. That smile he tries to stop fighting its way through. 

Sansa shoves at him, the man solid and hardly movable. “Stop. Forget the ‘but’...you are a good father; you are good with her. She’s a happy child, Jon.”

His gaze tender, he looks at her and she can see the moment where he accepts her word for truth. “Thank you. Sansa.”

She reaches out for his hand, giving a gentle squeeze, and a soft smile. “You’re welcome.”

Looking to draw out the conversation they are bound to have, she inquiries about the training program on the island. “How are you latest recruits fairing?”

“Well. We are finding a number of unwed mothers accompanying their children. They want to stay and raise their kids. We have been finding ways for them to remain on the island, to contribute, while still keeping their children. The island is busy...lively.” He muses as he runs a thumb over the rim of his cup. 

“You have done Bear Island and its forebearers proud, Jon Snow.” She smiles at him. Proud of the life he’s made for himself, and the opportunity he has provided for the people on the island. He pulls her attentions with a clearing of his throat. 

“So, you wanted to talk. I have questions about you and Skylaar, yes, but it doesn’t mean I am entitled to have my curiosity sated. Though, I am here to listen, if you want to speak of it.” Jon’s words warm her. She finds that the hand which previously gave a gentle touch, was now clasped in his, as his thumb stroked her forefinger soothingly. 

“There is not much to say. We were good...until we weren’t. I cared for him, loved him, but at some point we both wanted different things.”

“Such as?”

Sansa sighs, knowing now was the time to tell him about her reservations. “He wanted marriage and children.”

“The man didn’t strike me as a fool. For a smart woman, how did you not see that as the path he’d want to take with you. Hells it was what I wanted for myself.” Jon sends her a deprecating smile, as though to soften the sting of his words from hurting. 

“I guess when he and I began our relationship, we both were so focused on building and expanding the boat building and trade operations for Frozen Shore, that marriage and family was rarely discussed. When he tried to steal me and I fought against it, I think that was the first moment we both realized that we saw the trajectory of our relationship differently. I am sad that he is gone, and that we could not be for each other what we needed in the end. He helped me rebuild my confidence, Jon...in so many ways, and for that I will always love him.” Her voice softening as she thinks of her former love.

Jon put his empty cup on table near her bed. She could see he was trying to find the words to say that might make her feel better, even if it came at great cost to him. His eyes rake over her body, from her toes to the top of her head, and he asks, “Then if you love him, why do you not want to marry him and have his children? You, Sansa Stark, once sought a family of your own...a husband and children. Has that desire truly departed from you?”

Feeling bold with Jon in a way she had never felt before, she places her cup next to his and kneels on her bed before him, looking at Jon with a heated gaze of her own. “Because there is another that I love. If I knew he was willing to commit solely to me, then it would be with him that I would want to marry and have children with.”

Jon’s eyes widened. She could see his attempt to determine the intention of her words, and once he made a final deduction his eyes smoldered with awareness. Sansa wasn’t sure who moved first, but she knows that when they came together it was hard, fast, and like before...they were incendiary. The difference between then and now is there was no need for her to deny them both of what they wanted. They both pulled at his clothes, Jon tearing her tunic, and soon both were as naked as their name days. She felt winded as his arms pulled her against his body. Legs wrapping around each other, hands reading the other’s body like a book. Their lips were fused to each other’s skin, until their lips found each other allowing themselves to drink in the other. Sansa felt like Jon was recording every detail of her body...from the superficial notes to the deep motivations that move her passions. She wanted more, she needed more, and with great ease she cradled is hips between hers. Jon’s eyes were intense and consumed her attentions. Giving her a kiss that weakened her flesh, Jon positioned himself against her. Sansa felt no fear or hesitation...just desire...and with a slow and steady pressure Jon pushed through the last of Sansa’s resistance. They were finally coming together, and Sansa knew after all this time that it was good, it was right...this was their time.

***

__  
**Bear Island  
**  
Seven Years Later

Sansa could see her home, just a scant distance away. They were in their third year of a long Summer. Life for her had changed. Before he left for home, Jon Snow stole her, and she allowed it. As Jon was still an ardent follower of the Old Gods she allowed him to drag her before the weirwood tree...though dragging would be a bit of embellishment. Their marriage erased the memory of her previous nuptials, this time memories brought joy when she thought of Jon and Alarra on that beautiful day. 

Over the last seven years, Sansa and her family have spent most of their time on Bear Island during the harshness of Winter while mild Summers spent in Frozen Shore. Her work with Lord Manderly keeps her fairly busy in both locations as both places still build boats and serve as trading ports. Building quite an economy for the people who resided there. This is meaningful work to her, and Jon has been constant in his support, even when it can take her away from their home. A young voice pulls her out of her contemplation “Mama!” Looking over at Alarra, a young girl of ten and every bit a Stark in appearance. Occasionally, Sansa wonders if Jon ever regrets the strength of his seed...if he ever wishes that his children had some physical traits of their mothers. Letting sleeping dogs lie, Sansa would never ask him...but she wonders. Replying to the child of her heart, “We’re almost home. Gather your bags. I can see seven handsome gentlemen waiting at the docks...along with your Aunt Arya. Two I might daresay are most definitely looking for you.” Sansa smiles at her oldest as the girl runs up the stairs from the lower deck. Standing next to Sansa, the girl rolls her eyes as she smirks at her mother. Leaning over the boat, Alarra wildly waves her arms at the ones on the shore who are anticipating her arrival. 

Once they disembarked Alarra ran into her Father’s arms. Jon’s joy at seeing her return from their two-moon visit North was evident. The young girl flew into her aunt’s arms next. While her daughter was being welcomed back home, Sansa was getting a warm greeting of her own. She bent down to make herself accessible to their hugs and kisses. At six, her oldest was named Robb, who was the very opposite of his namesake in looks. Followed by their four-year-old twins, a surprise for all, Rickon and Benjen. Her youngest boy, Jeor, was almost two, and he held onto Rob as he walked towards her with an unsteady gait. Wrapped in her arms, as they almost toppled her to the ground, were Sansa’s boys. Each child looking more and more like their father. Sansa wonders if the babe she carries now will be a girl, maybe an Arya, Brienne, or a Jayne...she doubts it. For it is more likely that they will have another boy and he will look just as Northern as their father...perhaps Jon would like the name Podrick, Tormund, or Yohn. Discovering she was with child while away, was a bit of a surprise. She didn’t want Jon to find out in a letter, so she decided to wait.

After the kisses and hugs were all dispense the boys ran over to their sister, and the two twin brothers visiting from Winterfell...Princes Eddard and Jojen Stark. Jon allowed Sansa to welcome their family, standing to the side. Arya pulls away from their hug, her brow lifted, and a smirk growing on her face. “Oh, Stark’s and Snow’s...come with me. I have a new sword. I recent gift from Lord Gendry of Storm’s End. Perchance you might like to see it.” A chorus of loud childish voices followed their Aunt, as she walked away with little Jeor in her arms, and a tribe of children rambling after her. 

Turning to her husband, he opens his arms, a warm smile on his face and a flame in his eyes. Sansa gladly walks into his embrace. He holds her tightly against him, one hand against her back and the other in her hair...pulling her close so that he can devour her with a kiss...one she gladly returns. Awareness of their surroundings comes slowly to them both. Her husband pulls back a bit, his eyes gauging, a slow smile begins to press against his lips until his teeth begin to peep through. “How far along are you?”

“About four moons.” Sansa lips can’t help from mirroring Jon’s.

“Maybe this time, it will be a girl.” He speculates, his eye alight...hopeful.

“Or a fish protected by a pack of wolves.”

“Hmmm...if they are anything like you my dear wife, then they are wolf...through and through.”

“You think?”

“I know..”

“You know much now don’t you?”

“There was a time when I was told, I knew nothing at all. I like to think I have finally got the right of it.”

Giving into her husband kiss, she thinks about their journey to get to this place. All of the steps they needed to take, hers, Jon’s, and even Daenerys’s...who according to Bran, continues to make a name for herself beyond the Bay of Dragons. It was not easy for them, but as she had learned many years ago, we all play our parts and every player matters. Now it’s in her husband’s arms, and in her children’s joy that Sansa knows that the words family, duty, and honor serve as a roadmap of their past and as a guide to their future.

Fin

**Author's Note:**

> Finally!
> 
> It's all done!!!! I don't know about you, but I am glad this is over...ha,ha,ha.
> 
> This has been quite the journey and a fruitful learning experience. I appreciate your readership, comments, and support...even when we didn't always see things the same way. 
> 
> I think it is time for me to put my J/D & J/S polyamory hat away. I will finish up my other fic hopefully by mid-December. Then after a short break, I will start a JonSa story...and though Dany may be in it, I will do my best NOT to demonize her...because she doesn't _always_ deserve it. 
> 
> Thank you again!
> 
> Until next time...
> 
> ~Winter


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